This is a response to the one word prompt “Misplaced” by “The Daily Post.”

In life, there is not one person who has not, nor will not at least once misplace something of some importance to them. Be it simple things such as one’s car keys or cell phone to more important items such as their relationship with others (love ones, family). Why do we have so many instances of misplaced items in our lives? I believe it is because we do not truly appreciate the things and people in our lives. It is sad, but unfortunately the truth.

In today’s world, the iPhone or any other smartphone has become someone’s whole life with all the information that can be and often is stored on it. Yet, we often take it for granted just how much we depend on it when we put it down in the kitchen or bathroom counter and go into the other room and end up forgetting where we placed it. Actually, misplacing something like your smartphone every now and then is to be expected since, although they are very important to our everyday lives, they are replaceable things. Misplacing these inanimate objects may cause temporally discomfort and inconvenience, but life will go on.

The things that really matter to us such as our family and loved ones, we tend to pay more attention to and are less likely to misplace them or forget about something relating to them. At the same time, this does indeed happen, (more often than we think or like) that we sometimes forget important dates of loved ones, such as birthdays and other important events. We can lose track of and become out of touch with loved ones. All of these things happen to us in relation to what truly matters to us despite the fact that we know what truly matters. 

I can only conclude that we misplace those things most important to us, such as loved ones because we mistakenly replace them for a time with those less important things such as smart phones, car keys, and even our jobs. This is a mistake of the highest order yet one that is unfortunately very common in today’s world. If we lose our iPhone, we can get a new one, the same with our car keys. If we lose our job, we may for a time have to tighten our financial belts, but we will in time find another job. But if we lose our loved ones, (wives, children, parents, brothers, and sisters) that kind of loss stays with us for the rest of our lives. 

Let me be clear about what I am talking about, when I say the loss of a loved one I do not mean by death, although that too is deeply profound and life changing, what I am talking about is the loss of connection, of knowing that loved one. This kind of loss is in some ways more devastating than the loss of a loved one through death. This is because the loss is a lot less noticeable and can take place over a period of time and then suddenly hits, most times when you realize what is happening or has happened it is too late to do anything to reconnect.

With the loss by death, while the loss remains with you, it does heal and get a litter better over time. You, at least, have the memories of the loved one and all of your experiences with them. This is not so with the loss of a misplaced loved one, for this kind of loss is not only always with you, it is ever cutting because what you have is the loss of potential memories and experiences.

So the next time you find that you have misplaced something like your iPhone or perhaps the report your boss asked for, ask yourself “Just how important is this for you in the big picture of life?” Perhaps it is, perhaps it is not but one needs to know put in their proper place just what really matters to them in life. This is in the end, the only true way to happy and full life. There is the misplaced and then there is the misplaced, which is more important to you?